Maccabean Revolt

The Maccabean Revolt was a Jewish rebellion against Seleucid rule in Judea which lasted from 167 BC to 129 BC, led by the Maccabees. The Maccabees fought against Antiochus IV Epiphanes' persecution and hellenization of the Jews, and they succeeded in driving out the Seleucids and creating the independent Hasmonean dynasty.

Background
Greek rule over Judea began in 332 BC, when Alexander the Great's Macedonians conquered the Levant from the Persian Empire. After Alexander's death in 323 BC, control of the Levant passed to his general Seleucus, whose descendants ruled over the Antioch-based Seleucid Empire. The Seleucid rulers initiated the process of Hellenization, hoping to impose the Greek culture, language, and religion upon the eastern peoples. In 175 BC, the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes issued decrees which forbade Jewish religious practices and rededicated the Second Temple to the Greek pagan gods. Within a few years, it became mandatory for Judeans to perform sacrifices to the Hellenic gods. In 167 BC, a Seleucid official went to the town of Modi'in to force the locals to perform sacrifices. The rabbi Mattathias refused to perform the sacrifice, and he killed a Jew who was about to comply, as well as murdering the official. He then fled to the wilderness of Judea with his sons Judas Maccabeus, Jonathan Apphus, Eleazar Avaran, Simon Thassi, and John Gaddi, and he called on the Jews of Judea to join him. Many of them did so, joining the family's uprising against the Seleucids.

First phase: 167-163 BC
Mattathias died in 166 BC, and his son Judas became the new leader of the Jewish dissident movement as per Mattathias' final wishes. He led the rebels in a campaign of guerrilla warfare against the Seleucids, initially targeting collaborationist Hellenized Jews. The Maccabees destroyed pagan altars in the villages, circumcised boys, and forced Hellenized Jews into outlawry, and Judas was nicknamed "Maccabeus", "the hammer", for his ferocity in battle; the rebels came to be known as the "Maccabees". The quick and mobile Maccabees won several victories over the Seleucids by using guerrilla tactics: at Ma'aleh Levona in 167 BC, 600 Maccabees defeated 2,000 Seleucids; at Beth Horon in 166 BC, 1,000 Maccabees defeated 4,000 Seleucidds; and, at Emmaus that same year, 3,000 Maccabees defeated over 5,000 Seleucids. Another victory at Beth Zur in 164 BC allowed for the Maccabees to recapture the Judean capital of Jerusalem, and the Maccabees ritually cleansed the Second Temple and reestablished traditional Jewish worship. A large Seleucid army under the chancellor Lysias was sent to crush the revolt, but had to return to Antioch due to unrest caused by the death of Antiochus IV. Judas Maccabeus then formed an alliance with the Roman Republic which forced the Seleucids to restore religious freedom to the Judeans in 163 BC.

Civil war and death of Judas: 163 BC-160 BC
After the Judeans and Seleucids made peace, civil conflict broke out in both countries. In Judea, Judas Maccabeus and his followers cracked down on the reformist Hellenized Jews, whose influence collapsed due to the lack of Seleucid support. High Priest Menelaus was removed from office and executed, and his successor Alcimus was forced to seek Seleucid aid after his execution of 60 Orthodox Jewish priests angered the Maccabees. The new Seleucid king Demetrius I Soter sent a new army under Bacchides to invade Judea, and Judas was forced to abandon Jerusalem and return to guerrilla warfare. In 161 BC, a Seleucid army under Nicanor was destroyed at Adasa. However, Bacchides was then sent with 20,000 troops to crush the uprising, and most of Judas' men deserted him, advising him to also leave the field of batle. However, Judas and 1,000 of his followers made a last stand at Elasa, where all of them were killed. Judas' death inspired the remaining Maccabees to rise up under his brothers Jonathan Apphus and Simon Thassis.

Return of the High Priest: 160 BC-153 BC
Jonathan Apphus and the remaining Maccabees fled to the desert region east of the Jordan River, where they set up camp by the Asphar marsh. Jonathan's brother John was killed by hostile Jordanian tribesmen, who looted the Maccabees' baggage as they headed to ally with the Nabateans; Jonathan later recovered the treasure after massacring the 300 tribesmen. The Maccabees then fought against Bacchides' attacking army, killing 2,000 Seleucid soldiers before swimming across the Jordan to safety. Bacchides was forced to return to Jerusalem empty-handed, and the Maccabees remained in the swamps east of the Jordan. In 158 BC, Jonathan began a campaign of guerrilla warfare against the Seleucids, whose relations with the Hellenized Jews began to deteriorate. Bacchides killed 50 of their leaders in frustration, and he failed in his siege of the Maccabees at Beth-hogla. Jonathan made peace with Bacchides and exchanged prisoners-of-war, and Jonathan settled in Michmash and cleared the land of pagans and apostates. In 153 BC, he returned to Jerusalem after Demetrius withdrew the Judean garrisons (bar that of the Akra fortress and Beth-Zur) to fight against the rival claimant Alexander Balas, and Jonathan began to fortify the city. Jonathan decided to side with Balas in the civil war, and he was made High Priest of Israel as a result; now, Jonathan had religious in addition to political authority, and he was now nearly immune from any attacks by the Hellenized Jews or other Jewish opponents of his.

Seleucid civil wars: 153 BC-143 BC
Jonathan Apphus became an ally of the Seleucid king Alexander Balas, and he was treated with high honors and as an equal. However, King Ptolemy VI Philometor defeated and deposed Balas at Antioch in 145 BC, dying after a fall from his horse shortly after. Demetrius II Nicator became the new ruler of the Seleucids, and Jonathan had no allegiance to this king, resuming his siege of the Seleucid fortress in Jerusalem. After Jonathan bribed him, Demetrius gave him control over the three Samaritan toparchies of Mount Ephraim, Lod, and Ramathaim-Zophim, and Judea was exempted from Seleucid taxes. Jonathan, however, supported the usurpers Diodotus Tryphon and Antiochus VI Dionysus, and Simon was made Strategos of the coast from Tyre in the north to Egypt in the south. The two brothers proceeded to remove Demetrius II's garrisons, with Ashkelon surrendering without a fight, and Gaza being taken by force. Jonathan also renewed Judea's alliance with Rome and also established friendly relations with Sparta.

Final struggles: 143 BC-129 BC
In 143 BC, however, Diodotus Tryphon - who feared Judea's growing independence - went with an army to Judea and asked for Jonathan's presence at a conference in Scythopolis. Diodotus persuaded him to dismiss his army of 40,000 troops in exchange for being given Ptolemais and other fortresses, but, when Jonathan arrived at Ptolemais with 1,000 men, the Seleucids massacred the Judean soldiers and captured Jonathan. Diodotus then asked Simon Thassis for his two sons as hostages in exchange for Jonathan's release, and, even though Simon sent his two sons (as he was unwilling to be blamed for his brother's death), Diodotus had Jonathan executed. Simon was elected as the new leader of the Judeans, and he expelled the gentiles from Jaffa and filled it with Jews. In 141 BC, with the support of Demetrius II, Simon established the independent Hasmonean dynasty of Judea, which was recognized by Rome in 139 BC. In 134 BC, Simon was murdered by his son-in-law Ptolemy, and John Hyrcanus became the next High Priest. Antiochus VII Sidetes, the new Seleucid king, conquered the entire district of Judea, but refrained from attacking the Temple or interfering with Jewish observances. On Antiochus' death in 129 BC, Judea was again freed of Seleucid occupation, and the Hasmoneans were able to rule over a fully-independent Judea after 110 BC.